Bio: Hoeper, Bill – Withee Funeral Parlor Owner

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Hoeper, Lawson, Gribenow

---------Source: Withee Centennial (Owen, Clark County, Wis.) 2001

Bill came to the area in 1913. He became a licensed embalmer in 1936. He helped Mr. Griebenow in 1922 at the Lawson/Griebenow Funeral Home in Withee. This was a combination funeral parlor and hardware store. Later in the 30s they built a new hardware store and funeral parlor in Owen and moved all their stock there.

All embalming was done in the homes in the early days, then the family would come in and pick out a coffin which would be taken back to the homes and the body would be placed in the coffin and would be ready for viewing. Funerals would usually take place in the homes, or some would have them in the churches. The flowers would always be a problem. They usually had several "flower girls" to take care of the flowers - from the house, to the church, to the cemetery - they had to be taken off the stands and put back up at each place.

Graves were dug by hand at that time. Winter was really a nightmare for them. It took a lot of ingenuity to get the graves dug.

Mr. Hoeper opened his own funeral parlor in Owen in 1954 and sold out to Maurina in 1972.

 

 

 


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